National Trust cottages offer some of the quirkiest and most characterful holidays available in the UK. Whether you want to be lord and lady of the manor and surround yourself in period finery and acres of green gardens; stay in an expansive Mediterranean villa with eye-watering coastal views or reside in the holiday home of one of the world’s greatest novelists, a National Trust cottage allows you to walk in someone else’s shoes for a while before you kick back and relax in complete comfort.

There are dozens of National Trust Cottages currently featured on cottages.com, but to make finding your perfect property a little easier, we’ve picked a handful to showcase below.

1 Strode House, Barrington, nr. Ilminster (ref. NT003026)

Strode House offers a rich history that perfectly complements the period finery that surrounds you (even the name sounds like something you might settle round the TV to watch on a Sunday evening!). Built in 1674 by William Strode II, as a grand stable to the old manor house (next door), by the 1890s it was in decline, until Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, a founder member of the National Trust, recommended that it be acquired and preserved for the future. In 1920 Colonel Arthur Lyle (of Tate and Lyle), took a 99 year lease and took steps to create a model estate. In 1991 it returned to the National Trust and it can now be enjoyed as a holiday property. Sleeps 6.

The Dyffryn Mymbyr Farm House sits under the shadow of Snowdonia with incredible views of the Snowdon Horseshoe and Moel Siabod. So stunning is its setting that it featured as a key character in Thomas Firbank’s classic non-fiction novel I Bought a Mountain. First published in 1940, the book recounts the hardship and joy Firbank experiences after purchasing 5,000 acres of Snowdonia. The farm was donated to the National Trust by Esme Kirby in 1999, an environmental campaigner and Firbank’s former wife, who lived at the farmhouse after they separated.

Greenway Apartment, Galmpton, Devon (ref. NT012044)

If literary connections are your thing, you will love our next National Trust property. The summer residence of Agatha Christie, Greenway Apartment is a two level holiday property with many of the writer’s items still featured, including furniture and the typewriter she used to write many of her books. Christie set Five Little Pigs, Dead Man’s Folly and Ordeal by Innocence at the property – perfect light reading if you’re visiting, though you may favour something a little sunnier! Glorious views of the River Dart and a large garden are the perfect antidote.

Egryn, Talybont, nr. Barmouth (ref. NT008019)

National Trust Cottages specialise in unique, one of a kind properties that you won’t find elsewhere. So we come to a magnificent, historic, Grade ll listed, Welsh medieval hall dating from 1510. The wonderful medieval hall at Egryn is undoubtedly one of the architectural highlights and has been sympathetically restored using traditional building techniques. Don’t worry, the property offers a contemporary level of comfort, and there’s even a Victorian lounge with piano for a little sing-song!

Portland House, Weymouth (NT003042)

This Mediterranean villa has been built in the Art Deco style with stunning exteriors and interiors and 2 acres of enclosed gardens. Dating from 1935, it boasts a wealth of original features and makes great use of its surroundings to offer a truly unique holiday experience. It’s this fine preservation of heritage and surrounds that makes Portland House a definitive National Trust holiday cottage – though it’s far from a typical holiday home! Guests can enjoy south-facing views and two broad terraces (one above the other) with most rooms enjoying French windows on to them.